Parenting and caring whilst working remotely: experiences and resources

By Chris Wigginton.

I am incredibly proud to be the representative and champion of the Parent and Carer network on University’s Leadership Team and was pleased to be asked to share briefly some of my experiences with the wider university. It has now been almost two months that we have been working remotely and speaking personally it has been both incredibly challenging and incredibly satisfying, sometimes at the same time. Emma and I have young twins. elderly parents and relatives with various caring needs spread across the country and are trying to do our bit too for elderly or unwell neighbours. In this we are, of course, like so many other colleagues at Hallam, trying to juggle so many things for our lives and our work.

We have it relatively easy, with a garden and good access to outdoor space and enough indoor space to accommodate everything we need to do. Nonetheless stress levels are often high, anxieties about what the future holds common, last minute emergencies frequent and days long. Like so many, days can feel like moving from one long work zoom call straight into family life so that public and private continually blur: from potty training to team meetings, to virtual family gee-ups, to academic work-planning, to shopping, to reading papers, to treading on Lego and not swearing (ahem). Relationships, caring, parenting and yes, work too, are by turns exasperating and rewarding and we all experience different highs and different lows on a daily basis.

In all of this I would ask that you do a couple of things – things which I certainly do. Firstly, please do speak to your colleagues and managers about how you are feeling and about what you might need (and in this don’t be afraid to be honest and put forward ways of working that are good for you). I have been incredibly impressed with the way people are balancing childcare and caring with work, and certainly my twins have now – by accident or design – met almost all of my colleagues and rather than this being a nuisance, colleagues have actually really valued this. Secondly, I would want to draw your attention to the guidance that has been issued around working from home with care commitments and the resources of the Parent and Carer network. Also, please feel free to get in touch with us, particularly if you are struggling under the current circumstances at shuparentsandcarers@shu.ac.uk